Past versus Present
by aminerklarinen
Summary: Combined sequel to Lies and Denial. Suigetsu and Sasuke are just about ready to fight it out, but then Itachi arrives with some water for the fire...or not? See for yourself.
1. Chapter 1

**If you didn't read **_**Lies **_**or **_**Denial, **_**here's the brief synopsis of both at the conclusion of each: **

**Lies ****detailed Suigetsu and Sasuke's relationship. Sasuke always thought that he was Suigetsu's first love. Suigetsu cheats on Sasuke with his **_**actual **_**first love Itachi. Drama ensues. Itachi knows Sasuke would go so far as to kill Suigetsu to maintain his pride. It ends on the note that Itachi is going to "tell" someone that Sasuke is about to take away the life of someone that Itachi cares about, i.e. Suigetsu. He doesn't want to interfere himself as that would make the situation even more problematic. **

**Denial**** details the life of Sasuke before he ran away from Konoha and became the annoying leader of Taka that he is now (sorry, Sasuke fans, I don't fancy Sasuke much, as we can see…). In this fanfic, Neji is Sasuke's first boyfriend. Then Sasuke runs away and that ends the story. Neji, of course, didn't know. Guess how **_**he **_**felt when he was part of the save Sasuke team? **

**

* * *

  
**

Neji woke up with a thin coat of sweat on his forehead.

His first reaction was to turn around on his side and lapse back into sleep, or at least try to, but this time it was different. He got up and walked down the stairs, headed for the kitchen. He needed a drink of water.

He was halfway down the stairs when he sensed something shift down below. Instinctively, his senses became doubly acute and every muscle tensed, ready to move on demand with zero setbacks. He considered for a moment the use of his Byakugan, but rejected the idea. It would be foolish to, especially in his own _house. _

He made as little noise as possible walking down the stairs, his arm outstretched, palm facing out in the distinct Hyuuga way. He stopped advancing down the hallways when he saw a flash of red—two flashes of red—in the distance, where the kitchen was. They looked strangely familiar.

"Neji Hyuuga,"

Neji relaxed his arms, realizing that the person meant no harm. That is, if it was who he thought it was.

"Itachi?"

"That's right," the man blinked, and for a moment, the two flashes of red—the Sharingan—disappeared. "I see you've relaxed, too. Why do you trust me so?"

Neji hesitated before answering. "Because you told me once," he said unsurely. "If you ever came to me, it would be in regards to Sasuke,"

"That was...a fairly long time ago, no?"

Neji nodded, his heart twisting, the same way it did every time he recalled Sasuke's all-too-sudden flee from Konoha. _Without telling him. _

"Anyway, you are correct. I have come to tell you something about Sasuke…," he left the sentence unfinished, hanging in the already tense air.

"What is it?" Neji began. He was about to say more but bit his lip. So hard it almost bled. He wanted to ask if Sasuke was dead, alive, seriously hurt—but ever since that moment when Sasuke left the night after telling Neji he—_gulp_—loved him he didn't want to care about Sasuke too much. Of course, inside, he still did. Even after two years, he still thought about his first—and so far, only—boyfriend and wondered how he was doing. Who he was with. People like Sasuke didn't last long: he was just…irresistible. You just didn't hold back when it came to Sasuke.

Neji knew.

He often stayed wide awake, wondering if _Sasuke _was wide awake thinking about him. He'd always ended those thoughts with the conclusion that _no, he has someone better to think about now. _It was the main cause of Neji's frequent forlorn periods, which everyone noticed. They just didn't notice that he had been like that only ever since Sasuke left. Everyone just assumed he was still going through the humiliation he apparently felt at not being a main branch member.

"He—,"

Itachi stopped, uncertain of how to detail the awkward situation he had managed to get himself entangled in. At least he knew that Hiashi, Hinata and Hanabi were still asleep in their individual rooms. His skill allowed him to know this. But even so, it felt supremely uncomfortable telling Neji in the Hyuuga household when other ears were around.

Sensing Itachi's sudden discomfort, Neji suggested they step outside.

"I have to be quick," Itachi said as soon as they stepped onto the street outside the gate of the household. "_You _have to be quick,"

Neji didn't say anything. His face was expressionless.

"Why?"

"This is a difficult situation," Itachi said in a low voice, speaking quicker than he had ever spoken before. "In which there is limited time. I can only stall for so long,"

"I know," Neji said. "You've stalled once before—when you, the Akatsuki, kidnapped Gaara,"

Itachi nodded. "I'm afraid Sasuke…Sasuke has another boyfriend,"

_Had _he thought in his head. After such a predicament, he doubted his dignified little brother, no matter how much he knew he loved Suigetsu, was not going to forgive his two perpetrators.

Neji winced inwardly despite the fact that he should've expected this. He felt his heart constrict itself. _Sasuke…_at least now it was confirmed and he didn't have to imagine anymore. At least now he could—

_What? _Neji's conscience snapped. _Shed even more tears over Sasuke? Is that what you want? _

"That's understandable," he said, trying to keep his voice level. He knew it was trembling a bit, but was overall relieved at its generally neutral tone.

"And…that boyfriend just cheated on him,"

"Oh,"

"With…_me_,"

Neji said nothing. Just stood there and absorbed the information without a word.

Itachi felt absolutely awkward. Not to mention now that he was relaying the information onto someone else he felt like a total dick.

"And you want me to go stop Sasuke before he does anything he may regret?"

"Correct…again,"

"And how do you suppose I do that?" Neji said, his chest heaving in a sign that he was truly moved by the situation. "_You _made this mess. You clean it up, Itachi Uchiha,"

Itachi's heart froze at the backlash. He hadn't actually expected it to this extent. He was actually being addressed…_criticised _directly by Neji Hyuuga?

"Do you_ not _think I've already tried to think that way?" Itachi didn't mean to sound so emotional, but when it came to anything to do with Suigetsu and his defence he had to sound emotional. He wondered why this emotion didn't show up when he was actually with the mist Nin: when he was with Suigetsu, he was rock solid and, as always, showed little emotion. He just went for it.

"It's just too problematic," Itachi said. "I'm the one who came between them. I'm not coming between them in this fight too,"

"They're _fighting_ already?" Neji asked in disbelief.

"No," Itachi said after a pause. "They're about to,"

"Then what are they doing now?"

"Stop questioning me," Itachi snarled. This time, he didn't mean to sound so nasty, but he couldn't help it. They were running out of time. Couldn't Neji see that? And why was Suigetsu turning Itachi into an emotional roller coaster? "Just follow me and we will solve this,"

Neji crossed his arms defensively. "You think I want to see Sasuke and his new boyfriend?"

"They've been out for three months,"  
"Wow," Neji entoned, uninterested. "Then you want me to see Sasuke and his latest boyfriend?"

"If this will make you feel better and make you come with me, then I'll tell you: Sasuke has _never had a boyfriend _until now. After he left you, he was never with anyone until _now_,"

Neji paused in thought. He only felt slightly better at this new revelation. He still had another boyfriend anyway. It still made him feel shit. And it didn't mean that Sasuke didn't have multiple sex partners.

"Whatever,"

"Cut the act," Itachi said. "You're coming with me,"

Neji looked back towards his house. He was contemplating it, Itachi could tell. He'd softened him a bit.

"Give me a minute," the Hyuuga said. He returned to the house.


	2. Chapter 2

"I knew that you would react this way," Suigetsu mused aloud. "You were always the paranoid, over reactive one,"

Sasuke said nothing.

"But maybe I shouldn't be saying anything. It's killing me, too, you know. This whole situation,"

"Doesn't look like it,"

"Doesn't look it, but it does. There's a difference,"

Again, Sasuke said absolutely nothing.

"Where _is _Itachi anyway?" Suigetsu gave Zanbatou a little swing that ended in the blade coming to a rest on his shoulder. "I would've thought he'd show up by now, that rat,"

Sasuke took a sharp breath at the mention of his older brother's name coming out of Suigetsu's mouth. That mouth—the person—had whispered many words into Sasuke's ears in the past. Words that didn't sound faked or forced as far as Sasuke thought. And apparently they weren't. It was just that he was never going to be as good at Itachi, but he was still, well, good.

Sasuke didn't get it. He didn't want to get it.

Once again, Itachi had ruined his fucking life.

* * *

Neji didn't say anything to Itachi during the first leg of the journey. Even so, Itachi could tell exactly what the younger guy was thinking. It was kind of hard not to know, especially since it was obvious the Hyuuga was still feeling sore after the incident two and a half years ago. He himself didn't know what to say. He half wanted to console the guy as some sort of peace offering, but the other half told him he shouldn't try to sympathise. Neji was the type who didn't enjoy being pitied.

"You know…," Itachi began. "If you have troubles on your mind…you should really let someone else know about them, lest you burden your own mind with too many thoughts,"

"I'll be fine," Neji replied quickly. He could tell Itachi was trying to be friendly, but he didn't _need _that right now. He didn't even know whether to be nice or angry at Itachi. The thought that he was, at present, practically "hanging out" with an _Akatskui _member hadn't even crossed his mind. He was initially unnerved by Itachi's presence in _Konoha, _but he'd gotten used to it after a while, especially after they left the village without a hitch. He had to admit, Itachi was pretty damn skilled. Not that he hadn't known that.

Anyway, he wasn't sure if he should berate the older Uchiha about him stealing his younger brother's boyfriend but, then, he didn't know the full story. Or the boyfriend…yet.

He decided to save his words for later…if they were necessary.

* * *

"So Sasuke…," Suigetsu said. "You ready?"  
"For what?"

"Don't play clueless," the Mist nin half snapped. "I know as well as you do that your pride is your utmost priority. And I just snapped it in two. _No one _does that without getting it in the ass, right?"

Sasuke said nothing.

"For fuck's sake," Suigetsu turned around quickly and swung the giant blade of Zanbatou at Sasuke, who leapt away from its path adeptly. In one swift motion, he had his own katana in his hands and he swiped it once. Suigetsu didn't bother to dodge it. The part of his face which was threatened by the blade melted into water briefly.

"Oh please," Suigetsu smirked, putting a hand to his cheek. "Don't play dumb, either. You know that sword won't work on me,"

Sasuke dropped the katana and tried to calm himself down. He tried to think of soothing things, but nothing came to mind except a flowing river, and the river reminded him of Suigetsu.

He glanced around, feeling the air, trying to see if Itachi was in the close vicinity.

He wasn't.

_That's it then _Sasuke thought, his hand trembling in anticipation. _Here we go…_

"They've begun,"

Neji looked over at Itachi curiously. It was a short statement, too short for its gargantuan implications.

"Already?"

Itachi nodded, quickening his pace. His Akatsuki coat flew behind him, whipping in the air. It made him looking effortlessly dark and cool. Neji shook his head from the thought. He couldn't risk falling for Itachi too, not that he was even _close _to doing that—he only had eyes for the other Uchiha—but he was the type to take every precaution possible.

"So fast," he commented quietly.

They continued on, a little faster now, now that they knew they were close...and the stakes were higher.

* * *

Sasuke's first plan was to use Chidori. It was fast, efficient and simple. Suigetsu was, very literally, a body of water and the jutsu which Kakashi taught him many years ago made the verdict obvious and the victory fast. He activated his Sharingan and prepared himself. The wind was picking up, as if sensing the tense atmosphere.

Suigetsu saw—not to mention—heard the distinct Chidori before it came at him. He smiled a bit at Sasuke's extent, at the same time knowing he was doomed as far as that went. He wondered if he could counter it.

_No _he thought. _It's beyond my ability to--_

He stopped all his thoughts as Sasuke neared.

The Uchiha knew that Suigetsu wasn't even going to _try _and avoid the attack. It almost made him hesitate. Sasuke _was, _well, evil, but that didn't make him entirely immoral: this defenceless target, his ex boyfriend, made his heart ache as he thrust his hand forward and watched as the Mist nin was hit.

_No! _

Itachi swept into the clearing, Neji ahead of him. He had no idea what the Hyuuga was thinking now, but clearly he was thinking _fast. _

The Hyuuga had his Byakugan activated within seconds and was racing in what Itachi could assume was his full speed.

"Air palm!"

Sasuke had been too busy watching Suigetsu collapse to catch the ambush. He fell backwards from the force, his mind devoid of thought until he hit the grit hard.

_Neji?!_


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke got up, stumbling a little, and dusted off the seat of his pants: he couldn't tear his eyes away from the guy who was standing in front of him now, Suigetsu in his shadow, immobile. He hadn't seen him in so long, after all. Sasuke couldn't say he looked _that _different: he still had that unbelievably pale skin, the long brown hair that complemented that perfectly as it lay against his skin. Sasuke felt a pang of shame. This was the guy that he'd betrayed the most: no, it hadn't been Kakashi or Naruto or even Sakura…it had been Neji. Sasuke recalled that Neji had also been on his impromptu retrieval team. He wondered how the Hyuuga had felt.

_He probably hates my guts. _

Neji glared at Sasuke for a while longer before crouching down over Suigetsu. Watching them, Sasuke felt immense jealousy. They had both been his, after all. And now they were—

Neji touched a hand to the guy's cheek. It was cool. He glanced up at Itachi, who looked slightly worried but had kept his calm demeanour.

"He'll be fine," Itachi said, his eyes scanning Suigetsu's body. Apart from the fact that it was totally still, it still looked completely normal. Neji nodded and turned back to look at the motionless body before him.

_So this is…Sasuke's…_

He expected no less. The person lying there looked like Sasuke's type. Not to mention he looked pretty…lean. Neji's finger twitched as he stood up, his eyes still trained on Suigetsu.

Sasuke felt weak standing up, but he knew sitting down would be a sign of that. He stayed where he was, not wanting to do anything.

After Neji had risen, Itachi had taken Suigetsu's body, which looked even limper in his arms. Itachi wasn't even looking at Suigetsu, though. He was looking at Neji.

"Thank you," he said slowly. He knew it had been hard for the Hyuuga to hear about the situation, let alone put himself in the middle of it as some sort of peace maker. Itachi was grateful for that.

Neji nodded. "You take care of him, then,"  
Itachi left quickly. Sasuke made no attempts to stop his older brother. Fuck Suigetsu, he had something—someone—else to worry about _now._

Neji said nothing for a while. The light breeze picked up.

"My work here is done," he said, avoiding eye contact with Sasuke. He didn't want to look at him. If he did, he was going to—

"Bye, Sasuke,"

"No, wait—,"

Sasuke took a couple of steps forward and grabbed Neji's wrist. It felt small in his grasp. And warm.

Neji tensed up. "What?"

"Stay,"

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Neji turned around and his eyes met Sasuke's for the second time that night. Sasuke felt a jolt of the same chemistry he had felt two and a half years ago. "If that's it, I'm definitely leaving,"

"If you stay, you won't regret it,"

Neji shook his head.

"That sort of thing doesn't make me stay, especially for _you_,"

"I didn't meant _that_," Sasuke said sharply, feeling a blush creep across his cheeks as he fleetingly recalled Neji's naked body and his own, together. "I'll tell you…why I left,"

"We all know why you left. You sought greater power, and you left the Leaf for that. You followed Orochimaru,"

"Why I left without telling you…,"

Neji blinked twice in quick succession in what they both knew was in an effort to prevent tears.

"I don't care anymore," Neji said. "Now let go of my hand,"

Sasuke hesitantly slipped his fingers away from Neji's wrist.

"Time is a good healer," Neji began. "That was ages ago, Sasuke. You think I still give a shit about you?"

Sasuke flinched. Neji only swore when he was really, _seriously _pissed.

"And especially you," Neji continued angrily, speaking quickly now. "You're the one who left everyone without telling anyone. Don't think it was just me who was affected by the fact that you did it so secretively,"

"It would've been foolish if I told everyone before I left, don't you think?" Sasuke started sarcastically, hating himself for letting his old self take over and sounding like such an asshole when he was obviously the bad guy here.

Neji's eye twitched. "That's it, I'm _leaving_," he said as calmly as he could .But as calm as he thought he was being, Sasuke knew that he was supremely pissed off.

_Well, obviously…_

"…,"

Neji shook his head. "After all these years," he said. "I thought you would've at least learnt your place…as in, when you know you're wrong, _you're wrong. _And you're not going to be able to talk your way out of it by saying—,"

"Hey, I—,"

"Shut up and let me finish," Neji snapped. "You can't go around living life thinking that if you have a good, justified reason, you've done something right,"

"It was right," Sasuke said as softly as he could. "I didn't want to tell anyone because I—,"

"Didn't want to hurt us, did you?" Neji said in a somewhat patronizing tone. "Well, either way, you kind of did,"

Sasuke said nothing, defeated. He knew that that was exactly the way he operated. He always thought that if there was a good reason to do something, or if it was the best option to take on a particular situation, he was being completely moral.

"You're so ignorant about everything you did," Neji added, letting his two and a half years of thinking pour themselves out. "And now look what you've done to your—," he gulped. "—boyfriend,"

"He's…I'm not sure he is my boyfriend anymore. He's _Itachi's _now," Sasuke replied bitterly, crossing his arms. "But enough about that. Right now it's just us,"

"Us?" Neji said coldly. "Us…we were over ages ago,"

"It was never official…,"

Neji threw up his hands. "I'm not even going to _say _anything to that,"  
"Okay, that was stupid," Sasuke admitted. "But, I just couldn't…at the time. Couldn't face you and just tell you that I wanted out,"

"Just shut up about that," Neji said. "Tell me. If I had cheated on you with, I don't know, Naruto…would you have tried to kill me, too?"

Silence.

Frankly, at the moment Sasuke was not thinking about Suigetsu at all. He didn't care about Suigetsu. And suddenly, he knew how Suigetsu felt. When the Mist nin had told Sasuke that he stood no chance when Itachi was around, Sasuke now knew exactly what that felt like. When Neji was around, Suigetsu stood no chance either…

"No," he replied quietly, not knowing if it was entirely true. "I would never hurt you,"

"Huh," Neji sniffed.

"At least, not…in that way,"

"I'd rather you hurt me that way," Neji said. "I'd prefer physical pain any day. At least then I wouldn't have anything clouding my thoughts every single _fucking _night since you left me like that!"

Neji began walking away.

Very quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

Itachi didn't know where else to bring Suigetsu, so he carried him straight into the Akatsuki lair.

"Suigetsu Horuki?" Kisame walked over and craned his neck a little to look at the Mist nin's face properly. "What are you doing with him?"

Itachi shifted a little under the weight. "Found him," he said, a note of annoyance in his voice. Kisame shrugged. "Where's his sword then?"

"No idea," Itachi answered quickly, stepping around Kisame and heading to the couch that was sitting by itself, next to a potted plant, in the dining room. He'd figured that if he kept Suigetsu in his own room it would've been kind of, well, suspicious. He brushed the hair from Suigetsu's face and whipped around to see Deidara watching him with what could only be called utmost interest.

"Itachi, Itachi. You've brought a pet home?"

"He's not a pet," Itachi said neutrally, knowing that if he sounded tetchy Deidara would be even more irritating. The Iwa nin smirked.

"He is now,"

"It's Suigetsu Horuki," Kisame offered. "You know, that kid who's after my sword?" he added complacently.

"Oh, yeah?" Deidara intoned, clearly unimpressed. "Don't know who that is. Sorry,"

"Ignorant bastard," Hidan commented from his post at the table. He was reading some sort of scroll and was constantly making statements about it. He glanced up at Deidara, who rolled his eyes at him.

"I bet you don't even know who he is either,"

"You're right," Hidan answered, his eyes still on the scroll. "I don't,"

Deidara didn't say anything. He walked up to Suigetsu and looked him over so obviously that Itachi wanted to laugh.

"So why's he here again? You reckon he's got the stuff to be one of us?"

Itachi shrugged. "He's Sasuke's…friend,"  
"I see," Deidara got up and stretched, yawning a little. "Well, you tuck him away, yeah? I'm going to hit the sheets,"  
"Don't piss the bed," Hidan said. Deidara cursed at him and left. Kakuzu lifted the cup to his lips and took a loud sip.

Eventually, the amount of people in the room lessened until Itachi was only accompanied by Hidan, who was still reading the scroll. Itachi had no idea what was on there, but it surely had to be something important. It made Hidan look like a nerd.

Hidan caught Itachi looking at him.

"What?" he asked loudly. "Can't a man sit down still for hours and read a single scroll without getting stared at?"  
"Just hard to believe that you would," Itachi said. Hidan shrugged.

"Reasonable answer," he put his scythe on top of the outspread scroll to keep his place and walked over to Itachi.

"Aw, look at him," Hidan reached over and pinched Suigetsu's cheek. "Little brat,"

Itachi said nothing, just looked at Suigetsu.

"So what happened to Sasuke?" Hidan asked suddenly, straightening again.

"What do you mean?"

"It's Sasuke's friend, right? And the only reason you would come back carrying this dude instead of your lil bro would be because your bro attacked him, right?"

Itachi nodded, surprised at Hidan's acute perception.

"Anyway…I'm off," Hidan said after a while. "It's late, you know. Sleep soon, Uchiha,"

He left, leaving his scythe and scroll on the table.

Itachi watched Hidan go, then looked back at Suigetsu, whose body was cold all over. He had decided to leave him here. None of the Akatsuki members were bothered enough to do anything with him, anyway. Especially not when he was unconscious. Judging by their reactions, it was obvious that they weren't even troubled by his presence. Except maybe for Deidara. Ever since the loss of Sasori, it was like he'd been trying to find someone to listen to him. So far, he'd only found that Hidan would listen to him…if he listened to Hidan after that. As far as Itachi knew, they talked every night. He had no idea about what, but Kakuzu had said once that they had many D&M (deep and meaningful) sessions where they both ended up not sleeping because it was so, well, intense. Apparently, they always found a way to relate Jashinism to art.

Itachi found a blanket, put it on Suigetsu, and hoped that the Mist nin didn't wake up randomly in the middle of night.

Deidara woke up first in the morning, which was unusual for him. He had forgotten all about Suigetsu until he saw the guy still lying there. Deidara rubbed his eyes a few more times as he walked over. He seemed to have tossed a lot in his sleep, since the blanket was lying in a heap on the floor. Deidara picked it up and proceeded to cover Suigetsu up again when he let out a low groan and stirred.

Deidara tossed the blanket onto the couch's sidearm and watched with mild interest as Suigetsu stretched: he arched his back, cracked his toes and, finally, his eyes slowly blinked open.

"Good morning, pet," Deidara greeted, unsmiling. Suigetsu got up, wincing a little. He didn't bother asking where he was. The blonde dude in front of him was garbed in the Akatsuki coat, which could only mean one thing. Obviously he was in the Akatsuki lair.

"Where's Itachi?" he asked, covering his face with his hands as he yawned. He put a hand on his stomach, where Sasuke had hit him.

"Sleeping…I'm the only one awake at the moment, hmm,"

Suigetsu cocked his head. "What? What time is it?"

"Heck if I know," Deidara replied, looking through all the shelves for his cup. "Probably around six. Or five thirty. I don't know, okay?"

"Okay, okay," Suigetsu slipped off the couch as calmly as he could, grimacing at the pain in his stomach. Deidara saw this but didn't do anything, just rinsed out his cup and filled it with water from a jug.

_Itachi's, not mine _he thought nonchalantly, tipping his head back slightly as he drank.

***

Sasuke wandered around the small village aimlessly, his head pounding, his legs tired and his mind a wreck. After Neji had left, he had behaved like a drunk: raged a little, was frustrated by the smallest things, was rude to passers by that he accidentally collided with in the midst of his daydreaming and was drifting around completely without direction. He _had _wondered where Itachi had brought Suigetsu and what he was doing with him, but he had soon forgotten about it. It wasn't even his problem. The only problem right now was getting Neji back, however unlikely that seemed at the moment. He didn't know how to start on that anyway. He wasn't going to just walk back into the Leaf. If Suigetsu was with him, he would've made Suigetsu go, but—

Sasuke scratched his head furiously and continued on, hating himself more and more every second.


	5. Chapter 5

Deidara didn't like the feeling that was in the room when Suigetsu was around. It was the feeling where you felt that something didn't belong and it felt awkward to have that something around. Deidara would have gone out of there a long time ago if it wasn't for the fact he had to prepare the morning's goddamn breakfast: he tapped his fingers on the counter, waiting for someone else to come into the room. He was used to no one being around this early, but this was just damn ridiculous.

_Time to break the silence. _Deidara straightened up and sighed, stretching a bit. He felt Suigetsu's eyes on him as he turned around and flicked the stove on.

"Are you okay, hmm?"

Suigetsu almost jumped when he realized he was being addressed by the blonde guy who had just walked in. He'd previously thought that he was just going to ignore him, but obviously not. He wondered if all the Akatsuki members were going to talk to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he rubbed his stomach again. The flesh there was slightly pierced, not to mention extremely sore. He felt like he was pregnant or something.

_That is, the fact that I have to protect this area at all costs…_Suigetsu thought, lifting up his shirt slowly and wincing at the sight of the wound. Deidara saw it too and, keeping an eye on the stove, walked over and squatted in front of Suigetsu's form.

"Just like his brother, isn't he," Deidara mumbled."Pitiless,"

"Itachi isn't heartless," Suigetsu snapped. "He's—,"

"What? Misunderstood?" Deidara laughed as he stood back up. "That's what they all say, yeah. But it's never true,"

Suigetsu said nothing, his face grim.

"I'll get you a towel to wipe that up, okay?" Deidara walked back and Suigetsu leaned back a little, trying to keep the fabric of his shirt off the blood caked area that was his stomach.

Deidara came back and, without warning, pressed the wet towel straight onto the wound. Suigetsu yelped, but he didn't retreat. Deidara eyed him carefully before rubbing it around a bit. Then he handed the towel to Suigetsu.

"You can do it yourself now," he said simply. He was about to get up again when a loud voice cut through the room.

"Stop flirting with the new boy, Deidara,"

Deidara turned around, his eyes narrowed. He looked at Hidan, whose pale hair was tousled all over the place in a serious case of bedhead, and whose pants were streaked with blood.

"Shut up," Deidara walked over to Hidan and stared at his pants in a disapproving manner.

"Oh, that's just gross,"

"What?" Hidan looked down. "Oh. Right…that,"  
"You say you can't put up with blood being beneath your fingernails, but you can sleep in bloody pants?"

Hidan shrugged.

"You," Deidara looked at Suigetsu. "Gross, yeah?"

Suigetsu shrugged too. "I guess,"

He didn't want to choose a side, especially since he didn't know whose side was exactly…"better" yet. The blonde—Deidara— seemed nice enough, albeit a little _too _vain, biting off more than he can chew: the guy with the silvery hair just seemed more amiable.

"Suigetsu, wazzit?"

The pale haired one walked towards him and glanced from the wet towel to his wound.

"Come on, man," he said. "That's not a fucking wound. You little baby," he tousled Suigetsu's hair roughly. Suigetsu didn't understand until he looked at the guy's bloody pants again.

_He's used to pain maybe? _He thought. He heard the sizzle of oil as Deidara ripped open a pack of bacon and slapped some into the pan.

***

Sasuke stopped at a roadside eatery. He didn't order anything except a drink. He didn't _need _anything except a drink.

He downed it quickly and half slammed it down on the table, his head a mess of thoughts. He was blaming himself, he was trying to cheer himself up, he was congratulating himself, he was criticising himself. He wanted to burn something.

_I'm sorry, Neji _he put his head on the table. What he really needed was Neji. Even though the Hyuuga wasn't going to listen to him or try to comfort him, he just wanted his _presence. _His mere presence meant a lot of things to Sasuke: he would, ironically, be calmer and more frustrated at the same time. It meant Sasuke was easier distracted yet he was stronger.

He shook his head free of the thoughts, paid for the drink and left. It was going to a bloody hectic day.

Unless…

***

Neji wasn't even close to Konoha. He hadn't even been heading back. He had been wandering aimlessly in its general direction, stopping many times to think and throw stuff. He hadn't even thought about the repercussions of him leaving so randomly in the middle of the night, without warning. Sure, he'd left a note for Hiashi that told of his return, but it didn't say anything about the nature of his temporary leave.

He wondered if people would be sent out to find him.

He didn't care.

"Neji,"

Neji turned around. His conscience sighed in exasperation but his heart beat faster. He knew it shouldn't have. This person was supposed to be out of his life.

"Sasuke?" his voice sounded soft. He fixed it. _No _he thought. _I can't sound that…soft…_

"What are you doing here?" _And how'd you get here so fast? _

"I couldn't…," Sasuke walked over and saw Neji take a step back. _He doesn't want to be near me…at all…_ "…just leave like that,"

"As you can see, it's not only _you_," Neji snapped. "And not because I don't want to forget you either,"

"Then…why?"

"I want to forget you, that's why,"

Sasuke was confused. But then again, he had always been confused by Neji. It was one of the Hyuuga's most alluring features. He did all this stuff to you and you didn't know exactly what they meant—so you spent ages trying to figure it out—until he acted on it. It was usually good. But this time, Sasuke sensed it wasn't.

_Well, obviously…_

"But the thing is," Neji continued. "I can't just forget you like that. I told you. It's been two and a half years and I still can't get you out of my head. I need something life changing. I need something to change my life from the dump that it is right now. Like you changed mine. I need someone else to change it again,"

Sasuke swallowed hard, fighting back the urge to run to Neji and just fucking hug the guy.

"So I'm going to find someone. Just like _you…_," Neji stopped, his throat feeling like it was caked with cement. "…found someone,"

"Suigetsu?"

"No," Neji said. "Orochimaru,"


	6. Chapter 6

"Don't be ridiculous," Sasuke stepped forward and, despite Neji's flinch, he grabbed his hand and held on. Tight. "You don't want to do that,"

"Oh, don't I?" Neji glared at Sasuke's hand around his but didn't do or say anything about it. "And why is that?"

"It's a stupid thing to do," Sasuke admitted. "Just…don't do it,"

"So you finally realize you were stupid to leave like that? Great," Neji snapped sarcastically. "It only took you a lifetime,"

"Stop it," Sasuke gave his hand a little tug. "Just…stop being so…,"

"I have to the right to be cold to whoever the fuck I want," Neji yanked his hand from Sasuke's. "Including you. _Especially_ you,"

Sasuke felt extremely hurt. He made no further move to touch Neji.

"That's right. I'm going to do what you did. I'll go find what I really want. And then I'll forget all about the guy that—,"

He seemed unable to continue.

"So what are you going to do?" Sasuke asked finally.

"Why would I tell you? You will only get in my way," Neji said. He looked Sasuke up and down before adding: "More than that you already are, that is,"

"For fuck's sake," Sasuke felt himself rage up. "It's been almost three bloody years. Get over it!"

Neji was surprised at Sasuke's sudden unreasonable outburst. "What are you _talking _about now?"

"Listen to me," Sasuke's eyes pierced Neji's. "Just because I was the one who _left _doesn't mean you were the only one who suffered. I suffered too, you know. You think that I just up and went and forgot about you instantly? You better fucking think again,"

"Sasuke," Neji said warningly. "You're kind of the one who brought this on me—both of us. You make it sound like I'm to blame,"

Sasuke said nothing. Neji glared at him before turning around, about to walk away, when Sasuke stopped him. Neji froze and sighed heavily.

"Get _off_,"

"I want to stop you,"

"Fine," Neji said. "What if I want to go back to Konoha now? Will that mean you'll let me go?"

Sasuke's grip tightened around Neji's shoulder.

"Don't go back,"

"Then what the fuck do you want me to do?"

"Just…," Sasuke stepped forward and brought his arms around Neji's slim body tentatively. He didn't care that Neji tried to squirm out of his embrace. He held on tight.

"Stay here,"

Neji closed his eyes. He felt the corners of his eyes dampen. He wasn't going to deny that the hug felt good.

"Fine," he said quietly. "I'll stay,"  
_For the time being…_

***

Itachi had brought Suigetsu back to his own room, lain him on the bed, and helped him wipe down the wound even further, even though Suigetsu had already done that. Apparently Deidara had done the initial wipe down, and that made Itachi kind of angry inside.

"Does it hurt still?" he asked quietly, wincing a little himself at the fine cuts on Suigetsu's torso. Suigetsu tilted his head and smiled.

"No," he answered. "Not that you're here now,"

Itachi blushed. "That's so corny,"

"You love it," Suigetsu commented. He took Itachi's hand and pulled the Uchiha on top of him.

The bandaging could wait.

***

Sasuke took the chance to take Neji in physically.

Not much had changed, like he'd decided before, he just seemed…bigger. And that was it. He still felt like the same Neji from ages ago. Sasuke wondered if he still felt the same to Neji.

"You're skinnier now, aren't you?" Neji turned around and put a hand on Sasuke's partially exposed chest. Sasuke inhaled sharply at his touch.

"I guess. I don't notice,"

"You don't notice a lot of things,"

"They're usually little things. They don't matter,"

"You think?" Neji replied. His hand slipped from Sasuke's chest and almost brushed against Sasuke's crotch. Sasuke felt himself grow hot while Neji, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke tried.

"Look," Neji held up a hand. "Don't waste your breath. It's never going to work: your apologies go nowhere,"

"Really?" Sasuke took both Neji's hands. "They really mean nothing? At all?"

"Apologies change nothing," Neji said. "Not going to ease the pain at all,"

"What would you like me to do then? Besides…leaving you?"

"You already left me," Neji replied shortly. "All I want…,"

He stopped. He didn't know what the alternative to Sasuke leaving was. There _was _no alternative. He just wanted Sasuke to leave.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke wasn't the type to grovel. He was never the type to basically _beg _someone to stay with him or forgive him. But Neji was worth it.

"Seriously. Don't do anything stupid,"

"Tell that to yourself," Neji said sharply. "Now do something smart for once and leave me alone,"  
"Not until you're back in Konoha,"

"Fuck," Neji swore under his breath. "You want _me _back in Konoha? Then why aren't _you _back in Konoha?"  
"What?"

"You're the one everyone wants there," Neji said. "Everybody wants you back. And you know it. And yet here you are telling me to go back,"  
"I…I have my own reasons," Sasuke faltered. "But I want you to go back. I want to reassure myself that you're not going to…,"

"Going to what?"

"Be like _me_," Sasuke said finally.

Neji snorted, but didn't say anything further.

"You know…," Sasuke continued. "I know this will sound…I'll sound like a supreme dick, but…,"

"Don't worry," Neji said flippantly. "I already think you're a supreme dick. You're also the biggest bullshitting asshole I've ever met,"

Sasuke tried to ignore the jab, but still felt the words cut into him like daggers.

"You're…part of the…blame…,"

"Oh, what the hell," Neji threw up his arms in surrender. "I should've seen this coming. I should've known that you're gonna tell me that I'm the reason you left in the first place. No, it wasn't your stupid quest for power; it was because of your boy…your friend,"

Sasuke's mouth was a thin line as he continued. "I left because…I liked you….way too much,"

"Now there's something new. Now you're just being illogical,"

"No," Sasuke combated the desire to grab Neji and kiss him. "It's…I…you know me," he pleaded. "I wanted power more than anything else. I was tired of being in someone else's shadow,"

"Shadow?" Neji repeated in disbelief. "You were in no one's shadow. You were the best,"

Sasuke shook his head, knowing that no one would understand the rivalry that existed between him and Naruto. He decided not to talk about that, either.

"But the thing that was in my way was _you_,"

"What are you gobbling on about? I wasn't in your way," Neji seemed to have calmed down, and even sounded slightly nervous now. "You were better than me,"

"Not in that sense," Sasuke said. "I mean…you were my weakness…you were…I didn't want to make myself close to people so much,"

"Go on," Neji cocked his head.

"You know how it is. People like me, before we leave, we don't want anybody to want to come after us. We don't want to love, we don't want to feel anything. I mean, my brother killed my whole…,"

Neji touched Sasuke's shoulder in a gesture of understanding. Sasuke's heart literally melted.

"And you were there in my life," Sasuke continued. "I realized too late that I shouldn't be making myself close to anyone. Especially in that way,"

"So you regretted being with me?" Neji sounded cold again.

"No!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Don't think that,"

"Well it certainly sounds that way,"

"It wasn't meant to," Sasuke felt his cheeks grow hot as he was brought close to tears. "Look…all I am saying is that I didn't want to leave you…but I had to,"

"Yeah," Neji agreed sarcastically. "You had to leave me because you wanted something better. And because I wasn't a milestone,"  
"Neji…," Sasuke said softly. "Try…and see it from my point of view,"

"Oh I tried," Neji answered quickly. "I just couldn't, and I still can't, comprehend it. I wouldn't have left you for anything,"

Sasuke nodded after a tensed silence.

"I know," he said quietly. "You're not the type,"  
"I didn't think you were," Neji said. "Until then,"

"So what was it like…when they asked you to go and…try to get me back?"

"Why are you asking? You want me to kill myself?"

"No…I just want to know…,"

"I felt angry every part of the damn way," Neji snapped. "And I couldn't express that. Kiba knew, but he, being more tactful than you are, didn't ask about it,"

"I…I didn't know that they would do that—,"

"Oh, please—,"

"No, no. I knew that they were going to send people after me. I just had no idea that they were going to send…you,"

"Among others," Neji agreed simply.

Seeing Neji like that, Sasuke didn't want to just stand there and do nothing. It meant that he would have failed—again. And he didn't want to fail again. He pulled Neji close to him again and breathed in his scent. He entangled some of his fingers into his hair.

"Please," Sasuke closed his eyes and tightened his embrace. "Just try to…understand,"

"But you also found someone else," Neji said, his voice clipped. His mind flashed back to the memory of Suigetsu. The memory was painful.

Sasuke's hands clenched slightly on Neji's back.

"Don't talk about him…please,"

"What if I want to?" Neji shifted a little. "I think I have the right to know,"

"I only met him...a few months ago. It was…just like you and I. The chemistry was just there…from the very beginning. But…he could never…,"  
"I heard," Neji said. "He cheated on you. With—,"

Sasuke pressed his face into Neji's shoulder. For a moment, Neji felt sorry for him. Sasuke resembled a helpless child.

"He could never replace you," Sasuke finished, talking into Neji's shoulder so that his voice was muffled. "He was so different from you…,"

"Isn't different a good thing?" Neji asked.

"No," Sasuke said. "Not always…you would never do what he did,"

"You're right," Neji answered. "I would never cheat on you,"

"I guess I was just stupid,"

Neji paused.

"No," he said quietly, bringing his hands up around Sasuke and returning the hug. "You weren't being stupid,"  
Sasuke's head shifted. His lips were brushed against the skin on Neji's neck.

"Can we sit down?" Neji asked after a while, peeling Sasuke's hands off him. He nodded at the nearby tree. Sasuke smiled sleepily and nodded.

"Let's go,"

**Is Neji pretending or is he actually accepting Sasuke into his life again? At this point, I'm not even sure myself…**


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys: the news is that I'm going to continue _Past versus Present _in another fanfic of mine, _An Akatsuki Valentines,_ based on the fact that they both talk about Akatsuki in some way or another. In _Past versus Present, _Suigetsu has already been brought to the Akatsuki Lair, but for the sake of not making things seem messed up and confusing, I'm going to pretend Suigetsu is not in the lair _yet, _and that Itachi has hid him in an inn nearby. Please locate _An Akatsuki Valentines _in My Stories.


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